Ranbaxy Lab to pick up stake in Jupiter Bioscience

This move is part of the company's plan to expand its product portfolio through partnerships and strategic investments.

As part of its product portfolio expansion through partnerships and strategic investments, Ranbaxy Laboratories said on Friday that it would pick up stake in Jupiter Bioscience, a manufacturer of specialised organic compounds.

"This is an opportunity for us to expand product portfolio and we will go with the 14.9 per cent of enlarged capital of Jupiter Bioscience…subject to the completion of due diligence" Ranbaxy Laboratories CEO and MD Malvinder Singh told reporters.

He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the deal.

Yesterday, Jupiter Bioscience had informed bourses that it plans to allot preferential equity share warrants to Ranbaxy. The firm said it would seek the approval for the proposal from its Board of Directors on April 12.

The proposed warrant allotment is a part of the term sheet signed between the companies earlier, which includes forging a strategic business tie-up on peptide pharmaceuticals for the global market, Jupiter said.

Singh said the products from the these partnerships involving Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and peptides would play a key role in the company going forward in 2008-13.

Jupiter Bioscience makes specialised organic compounds like peptides and has a wholly owned US subsidiary Jupiter Bioscience Inc to cater to markets of peptides and peptide components in the US, Europe, Canada and Japan.

Singh said his company was looking out for similar opportunities in both India and abroad.